Page 148 of Fallen Princess: Shadow Stalker

His confusion warrants me to believe him. I told him something traumatic. But what surprises me is that Callum is usually the tough, angry one, and Asher is the sensitive one who feels other people’s pain.

How was Callum so emotionally traumatized? It doesn’t make any sense.

“I believe him,” I look up at Haze, who’s currently foaming at the mouth with the idea that his brother reverted back to taking drugs.

“He’s tricking you, princess. That’s what my brother does. Tricks you into thinking he’s innocent. I fell for his bullshite countless time to be considered a pro in Callum’s fuckeries!”

“Mate, now is not the time,” Asher says and glances at me. He suspects the same as me.

“He needs to go to a hospital to get checked out anyway,” Jagger says. “We can order a drug test.”

I look at Callum, and he nods in agreement but still looks extremely confused. He sits forward, grabs his knees to his chest, and rests his forehead on them. Ash and I sit on either side of him and grip his shoulders, assuring him of our support.

“It’ll be fine, mate. Whatever is going on, we’ll get you through this,” Ash says in his usual calm manner.

I gaze up at Haze and give him a silent warning to keep his mouth shut. I get that he’s fuming and that he’s been dragged through hell by Callum before, but this incident tells me something is different.

“The report came back conclusive with traces of methylenedioxymethamphetamine in your system….” The doctor’s voice trails on as I run through those words in my mind.

My heart seems to have dropped down into my gut. I was so sure Callum wasn’t on anything.

“Molly? You son of a fucking…” Haze grits his teeth hard and snarls at his brother.

“I swear I haven’t taken anything. You need to believe me.”

“I should never have trusted you, dumbarse, good-for-nothing piece of shite,” Haze spits out. “We’ve all been dragged down by you, but this is just one step too far.”

I step away from the bed in which Callum rests. He’s still struggling to understand, determined to convince us, and I feel trapped because I desperately want to believe him, but the toxicology report says otherwise.

Running so many scenarios in my mind, I push my thoughts back, trying to remember when he started acting strange. Callum’s not naturally a happy, active person. He’s reserved, usually with a chip on his shoulder, ready to throw a punch at anyone who crosses his path to piss him off.

This morning, he was way too alive for anyone’s good. Unusually active in a way no one’s ever seen him. We were too tired to focus on his behavior, and he cried when I told him my traumatic story.

Callum doesn’t cry, maybe teary-eyed, but if I think about it, his natural reaction to my story would have been throwing a fist into a wall.

I watch Asher go through Callum’s stuff and find his metal box. He opens it, examines the contents, and quietly leaves the room.

“Eden?” Callum calls out, but I ignore him and follow Ash, where he finds the doctor who treated Callum. He says something and hands the box to him. The doctor nods and walks away with it.

As soon as Asher turns back, he sees me and smiles.

“I do believe Callum was taking drugs, but I suspect he was unaware of it,” he says when he approaches me.

“You think he was purposely drugged?”

He directs me back into the room where the other three are.

“You mentioned your stalker had the ability to drug you and get in and out of your home unnoticed. He wants to ruin you. Why?” he looks at me, and I shrug my shoulder.

“I’ve tried for years to figure that out.”

“This stalker was dormant for years and suddenly turns up when you return to LA.”

“Are you going to believe what he says?” Haze stares at us disbelievingly and shakes his head. “I’ve had to deal with this bastard’s lies for years!”

“I asked the doctor just now if it's possible to lace tobacco with Molly,” Ash explains, ignoring Haze’s ranting. “He said there are several potential ways to consume it. Smoking molly is probably the least way users would take it because it doesn’t give you an immediate high. The effect would be gradual and wouldn’t last as long. If Callum needed an instant fix, he wouldn’t smoke it in his tobacco, but if his tobacco is laced with it, at the amount he smokes, it would give him a light buzz, at the very least after a long time of smoking it. Maybe today, it reacted badly with him? I don’t know, but if they find it in his tobacco, then I believe that Callum never knowingly took it. It would make no sense because it wouldn’t give a junkie the instant fix he would seek.”

“I’m not a junkie,” Callum insists.

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